


all i want is you

by third



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Christmas Fluff, M/M, Social Media, YouTube, vlogmas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-12
Updated: 2019-01-12
Packaged: 2019-09-24 00:07:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17090321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/third/pseuds/third
Summary: Donghyuck is a prank YouTuber. Jeno somehow gets thrown into the mix.





	all i want is you

**Author's Note:**

  * For [earlieststar](https://archiveofourown.org/users/earlieststar/gifts).



> to my recipient: your letter was honestly so lovely and your prompts were so cute! i tried to incorporate a few of your prompts together and ended up adding an extra au layer on top~ i hope you like it!! happy holidays!!

ミ☆

Donghyuck’s YouTube channel, mononymously known as _HAECHAN_ , rose to sudden fame when he started to gain traction for his unique take on prank videos. The combination of Donghyuck’s quick-wit, authenticity, and humorous yet harmless content quickly won his place in his viewers’ coveted subscriptions list. As it stands, the channel now boasts an impressive 1.2 million subscribers, with an extended repertoire of challenges and occasional vlogs.

Jeno’s only been a regular feature in Donghyuck’s channel since they met in the early days of university, but he still likes to attribute some of that success to himself. Donghyuck does too, considering how after he started earning a pretty penny from the views, he gave Jeno a solid 30% of the cut.

It’s fair, all in all, and most of the money they make either go to their future videos or end up spent on late night meals the two of them order when they’ve procrastinated editing. The rest goes to the type of stuff you expect 19-year-old university students to buy.

Donghyuck always likes to spice things up a bit, keep his audience on their toes, and it just so happens that the first year Donghyuck decides to do Vlogmas, the first two weeks coincide with their final exam period.

“We’re so screwed,” Jeno says after they’ve scheduled in their exams, assignments, and filming and editing deadlines onto their Google calendar. 

Donghyuck just takes one look at it, shakes his head, and walks out of the room.

ミ☆

“Why are you even awake?”

Jaemin’s voice cuts through Jeno’s haze, and Jeno looks away from where his eyes have been glued to the laptop screen. Jaemin’s standing over Jeno’s shoulder, peering at the still frame of the video he’s been working on. The imprint of Donghyuck eating through twelve bowls of cereal to commemorate the twelfth month of the year still lingers when Jeno looks at the profile of Jaemin’s face. 

Jeno glances at the time on the top-right corner of his laptop screen.“It’s only 8 p.m.” 

“Only 8 p.m.,” Jaemin agrees, “but you’ve been awake since 6 a.m. yesterday morning cramming for your exam.”

That’s a fair point. Seven hours ago, after cramming for the life of him, Jeno finished his first final exam. Then he went home, slept for an hour, woke up and started editing down two hours of footage into what he hopes will be 20 minutes max. Jeno didn’t even notice when Jaemin came back to their shared dorm room. Hell, Jeno didn’t even notice when Jaemin walked over and stood over Jeno’s shoulder, so close that when Jeno thinks about it, he can actually feel Jaemin’s body heat. So… Jeno might be a _little_ exhausted. 

“Isn’t this what university life is about?” Jeno asks, instead of admitting to his questionable life choices. He takes a careful sip of his Bacchus-D and raises it in a toast.

Jaemin eyes Jeno’s energy drink, and the four empty bottles of it next to Jeno’s laptop. “You’re going to die an early death.” 

Jeno’s about to retort—like Jaemin has _any_ place to talk when he takes his coffee with _eight_ shots of espresso—when Donghyuck lets himself into the dorm room. He somehow wrangled the dorm room code from Jeno, despite living on the floor above them, and Jeno is yet to decide whether he regrets it. 

“We have to go to dinner right after we post this,” Donghyuck says, instead of hello, heading straight for Jeno’s bed and immediately collapsing onto it. 

Jeno stares in jealousy—he too, wants to collapse onto his bed—but there’s a video waiting to be finalised and a dinner he apparently has to go to. He makes a noise of confusion, tilts his head, and ignores the slight spinning of the room. Jeno might be more than a _little_ exhausted. 

“I vlogged a bit but it was mostly me crying over studying, and then crying after my exam,” Donghyuck explains, eyes closed. “We need more content.”

It’s the first day of Vlogmas, and the first day of their exams. Jeno leans his head back, and stares at the ceiling. Why did he think YouTube and full-time study was a good idea? 

“Why do we do this?” Jeno asks, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“For the views,” Donghyuck says. 

“For the views,” Jeno repeats, and then smashes his head onto his keyboard.

ミ☆

ミ☆

Despite Jeno’s complete dedication to YouTube as the unofficial co-owner of Donghyuck’s channel—unofficial because Donghyuck disagrees, but Jeno thinks he’s just being petty—Jeno is actually fairly new to the game.

He didn’t even consider YouTube until he met Donghyuck, and it’s a wonder at all that Jeno got thrown into Donghyuck’s YouTube career when the first time they met was not exactly an auspicious start. (An alternative description: Jeno meets Donghyuck and nearly gets punched in the face.)

What happens is this: 

Before the official start of university, Jeno moves into his dorm room a full three (3) days before his roommate, completely rendering his plan to make one (1) friend useless. He doesn’t know anyone on campus, doesn’t know _how_ to get to know anyone on campus, and so to counter his loneliness, Jeno pretends to be busy by reading through his course outlines on the tables outside the university library.

There’s only one guy near Jeno, and it’s not really Jeno’s fault that he manages to hear 90% of the guy’s conversation when the dude is practically yelling. 

“Hey, can you stop swearing?” the guy says. “I said it was a mistake.” He runs a hand through his hair and starts pacing one table away from Jeno’s. Jeno only glances up once. He definitely doesn’t check the guy out. 

There’s a pause before the guys says, “Fuck you, too.” He stops moving, and his face contorts, looking angrier as each second passes. Jeno guesses that the person on the other side of the line is yelling at him. “What?” the guy goads. “Are you gonna come here and punch me?”

Jeno’s first thought is, wow, the first day on campus and there’s already drama. What will Jeno unlock next? His next thought is that the guy doesn’t really look like a fighter. He has bright, floppy hair and is nearly swallowed by his oversized shirt. He would look soft, but then he opens his mouth and says, “Yeah, prove it then. Fucking fight me,” and then the aura is lost.

The guy looks around and catches Jeno’s eye. Jeno immediately glances back at his course outlines like he wasn’t eavesdropping at all. “I’m outside the uni library,” the guy says. “I’m wearing a blue sweater, jeans and a grey backpack. Come and fight me, asshole. I’ll be waiting.” 

Jeno glances over at the guy, wondering how brave he is to invite someone to fight him, and realises two things at once: 1) the guy is not wearing a blue sweater or jeans, and he has no backpack in sight, and 2) Jeno is wearing that exact combination of clothes. 

There are a full two minutes after the guy gives Jeno a sheepish smile before scurrying off where Jeno wonders whether he should get up and leave, or just continue minding his own business. Surely, the person on the receiving end of the guy’s attitude wouldn’t just punch a random stranger because of their outfit… right?

Jeno’s still thinking about it when he catches the eye of a tall guy, walking with purpose. The moment he spots Jeno, he walks steadfast towards him, and Jeno starts to question whether he was wrong. The nerves spike up the moment the guy gets close, and Jeno shuts his eyes tight, right as the guy pulls his fist back. He expects pain, but instead is met with… the punching sound of laughter?

Jeno opens his eyes and sees the tall guy laughing, grin wide on his face. The guy on the phone comes running out, laughing as well, and tells Jeno it was a prank. 

In the end, Jeno blessedly doesn’t get decked in the face, but instead meets Donghyuck and Yukhei and makes two new friends. Jeno tags along and helps them film the same prank, this time by the pond outside the cafeteria. They end up having to flee the area and find another spot to target unsuspecting students, when they mess with a senior who looks like he could dispose of someone’s body and still make his 9 a.m. class. If looks could kill, Donghyuck would be buried, but even from behind the camera it makes Jeno fear for his life.

Donghyuck buys Jeno dinner as compensation for the life scare, and compliments Jeno’s work when they take a look at the footage. Jeno enjoyed being behind the camera more than he expected, so he offers to help out the next time. 

The rest, they say, is history.

ミ☆

ミ☆

The day after Jeno’s last exam, and three days after Donghyuck’s, the two of them go to the mall because “a Vlogmas series wouldn’t be complete without some Christmas shopping.” Or so Donghyuck says. Jeno thinks it’s just an excuse for Donghyuck to film himself judging various tidbits of Christmas decor and costumes.

Jeno’s thoughts are mirrored when Donghyuck beelines it for the costume section the moment they walk into one of the Christmas pop up stores, and immediately pulls out a Santa costume that makes Jeno’s eyes want to cringe back into their sockets. Donghyuck aims the camera at Jeno’s face, laughing at Jeno’s expression. 

“This shop is pretty bold,” Donghyuck says, turning the camera back around. Donghyuck lines the costume up against himself, checks himself out, and Jeno has every intention to censor the entire scene in post-production.  

“Why would anyone sell this?” Jeno asks, morosely. “What use is a…” he reads the costume name, “…sexy Santa baby doll costume?”

“What do you mean?” Donghyuck says, laughing. “This is what Santa wears. It’s as accurate as it gets.”

Jeno rolls his eyes, but a small smile peeks through. “Yes, I’m sure if Santa were real, this is what he would wear.”

In the next moment, a tiny gasp sounds from Jeno’s left side. Jeno looks towards it, and then lower when he realises the gasp is from a tiny child. Donghyuck immediately stuffs the costume back into the rack, and Jeno hopes and prays they didn’t just scar a tiny child. 

The good news is the child didn’t notice the costume. The bad news is that instead, the child lifts her hands to her mouth, and with eyes watering, says, “Santa isn’t real?” 

Immediately, Jeno’s stomach drops and he backtracks. He crouches down to kid-size level, flails his hands a little, and puts on a voice two tones higher than his regular speaking voice. “Santa is real! I just meant that he isn’t _real-ly_ here. Right now. Because he only comes out on Christmas… Because he’s busy making everyone’s toys…”

Jeno trails off, and turns to Donghyuck to help salvage this situation, but is met with Donghyuck with a hand over his mouth trying not to laugh, and a camera pointed in Jeno’s direction.

On his own, because Donghyuck is no help _at all_ , Jeno turns back to the child who looks at him dubiously, before she nods her head and grins at him. The ever-changing mood of children. It’s a wonder. “You’re silly,” she says, and Jeno definitely feels like he is. “Santa _is_ here! He’s right over there. I took a photo with him.” 

Before Jeno can even say anything, she takes Jeno’s hand and drags him along, which leads to a few seconds of him duck-waddling before he stands and follows. Donghyuck’s laughter erupts, and he cackles a few steps behind Jeno, recording the entire thing.  

In the middle of Jeno’s kidnapping, they meet the child’s mother, who apologises profusely but lets her daughter—Eul, Jeno learns—take them to see Santa. Somehow that leads to Jeno sitting on Santa’s left side, Eul sitting in Santa’s lap, Donghyuck on Eul’s other side, a dozen photos taken, and an afternoon Jeno didn’t expect but definitely doesn’t regret.

ミ☆

Donghyuck kicks Jeno out of filming three stores after they say goodbye to Eul.

“I’m going to see what you’re doing when I edit this,” Jeno says, but Donghyuck ignores him.

“I’m editing this video,” Donghyuck says, “but nice try.” He loads Jeno’s hands with all the Christmas shopping bags. “I’ll drop by your dorm. Bye!” 

Jeno watches as Donghyuck power walks away.

At the dorm, Jeno drops the shopping bags onto the floor and then sits at his desk to take a look at the Santa photos they bought. It cost way more than Jeno expected a 4x6” photo with Santa would, but Jeno assumes that even Santa can’t escape capitalism. 

He has two sets of photos, even though he only split the cost of one of them with Donghyuck. Right before they left the store, when Donghyuck was distracted by Eul, Eul’s mother pulled Jeno aside and handed him a set.

“What’s this?” Jeno asked, confused.

“A gift,” she said, a knowing look on her face. “A thank you for taking care of Eul.”

Jeno never managed to question her more, because she turned her attention back to Eul, but the entire time they shopped, the photo burned a hole in Jeno’s backpack. 

He opens the one he bought with Donghyuck first. It’s a photo of the three of them, staring straight at the camera, hands on the tops of their heads pretending to be reindeers. Santa has his hands on his head too, and Eul looks ecstatic, smiling bright. Jeno’s surprised at how big the smile on his face is too.

The second photo, the one Eul’s mother gave him, is one he remembers blushing at when the photographer pulled the photo on screen. Eul’s making a face at the camera, and Donghyuck is staring at her, a soft smile on his face. Jeno is staring at Donghyuck, a look too fond that Jeno feels embarrassed it’s caught on camera. He runs his thumb over Donghyuck’s face, savours his smile. 

“That’s really domestic,” Jaemin says, and Jeno nearly jumps up in surprise. He’s peering over Jeno’s shoulder again, and Jeno makes a mental note to be more aware of his surroundings. “Did you guys kidnap a child?”

“Technically, she kidnapped us,” Jeno answers, staring back down at the photo. 

“Sure,” Jaemin says, and then stays silent.

Jeno sighs. “I know you’re giving me a look,” Jeno says. “Why are you giving me a look?”

Jaemin hums. “It’s nothing,” he says. He pauses like he isn’t quite sure whether to continue. “I just—I just don’t want you to get hurt again.”

The silence in the dorm is thick. It fills the air with what Jeno has been trying to repress—his _feelings_.

ミ☆

ミ☆

Jeno wasn’t always privy to his feelings. In fact, the reason he’s privy to them at all could be traced down to Donghyuck’s YouTube channel. Jeno’s feelings came to him with the clap of a bang, at full force and uninhibited, and on the tail end of a prank video. It would have been posted with a _*GONE WRONG*_ label had Jeno’s acting skills not pulled him through.

Jeno’s acting skills are almost on par with Donghyuck’s, which lets him look at Jeno in the break between filming and say, “I think I’m starting to like you,” with such complete sincerity—anxious but confident face and all—that Jeno’s brain short-circuits trying to comprehend it. 

“Did you hear me?” Donghyuck asks when Jeno’s brain is still in the rebooting phase. The uncertainty in Donghyuck’s face is new. Jeno isn’t sure if he ever wants to see it again.

Jeno’s heart is pounding in his chest, loud in his ears. He blinks once, and then twice, subtly pinches himself and realises that this is not a dream. 

The thing is, Jeno never really thought about it. Sure, sometimes he looks at Donghyuck and wonders how someone could be that attractive, or sees him off to a date and wonders what it would be like to be the one non-platonically across the dinner table from him. They were just passing thoughts though, things Jeno pushed away because it had never been an option. Donghyuck saying he likes Jeno never seemed possible, but with it, everything Jeno repressed comes back to him. 

He opens his mouth to say something, but stops, scared. Donghyuck is still looking at him, like he’s trying to read Jeno’s thoughts, but Jeno’s thoughts are too jumbled up for even Jeno himself to comprehend. 

“Donghyuck,” Jeno starts, not really sure what else to say. The pounding in his chest is deafening. 

Suddenly, Donghyuck grins, and it knocks any possible words out of Jeno’s mouth. It seems different from usual, but it’s sudden and jarring and Jeno doesn’t get much time to dwell on it because right after, Donghyuck says, “Don’t worry, it’s a prank.” 

Again, Jeno’s mind stops functioning. “What?”

“I’m pranking you,” Donghyuck says, laughing. The sound is wrong to Jeno’s ears. Donghyuck points to the camera in front of them that Jeno sees is still filming, and then to a shelf across the room, where another camera is set up secretly. “I kept the camera running and there’s another camera there. It’s a prank, Jeno. I’m sorry.”

Immediately, Jeno leans back onto the sofa, arms across his eyes. They sting a bit, and the pounding in his chest left marks on the walls, bruising them. “Forget YouTube,” Jeno says, and his voice sounds fine to him, even if it feels a bit thin. “You should’ve gone into acting.”

Donghyuck laughs, apologises again, and Jeno suddenly has a full-sized five-foot-nine boy on top of him. 

After the shoot is over, because there were other things to film besides Donghyuck’s prank, Jeno excuses himself even though they had plans for dinner. Jaemin’s studying in the room for once, and he throws a surprised look when Jeno walks through the door.

“I thought you had dinner with Donghyuck,” Jaemin says. “What are you doing back?”

Jeno just sits down onto his bed, still dazed. “Donghyuck said he liked me,” he eventually says. 

“Fucking finally—” Jaemin starts.

“It was a prank.”

“—I’m going to kill him. Just straight out murder him.”

“Don’t,” Jeno says. He lies back and closes his eyes. His chest still hurts. “It’s nothing.” 

He’s not sure who he’s trying to convince, but either way, Jeno doesn’t think it works.  

When the video drops—after Donghyuck had messaged Jeno after a day of radio silence, _i’m sorry, should I not post the video?_ to which Jeno, completely emotionally constipated, replied, _why r u sorry?? post it!! it’ll be funny_ —it takes Jeno ten days of building up confidence before he watches it.

He sits at his desk, clicks play, and then grips the armrests of his chair, so tightly his fingers turn white, so he doesn’t press pause and exit the tab. The video isn’t incriminating, but Jeno can see it in himself—the minute expression changes on his face, disheartened when Donghyuck says it’s a prank.

He makes the mistake of venturing into the comment section and is met with hundreds of comments questioning their relationship. Jeno’s eyes stop at _this prank was really insensitive… i feel really bad for jeno… you can tell that he likes donghyuck and was hurt :(((_ He stares at it for a long time before he closes the tab. 

Jeno sits in his room until the sun sets and the room turns dark, slowly trying to push his feelings back to where they were buried, but they stick to his skin like glue and refuse to go down. 

Jeno’s been living with their company ever since.

ミ☆

ミ☆

Donghyuck collects friends like he does subscribers, albeit to a smaller 1 to 10 thousand ratio. Jeno had mentioned this to Donghyuck one time, and Donghyuck had said, “Don’t worry, you’re my 1 to 1.2 million friend,” and Jeno locked him out of his own dorm room.

Most of Donghyuck’s friends know Jeno through osmosis, enough so that when Jeno walks around campus, there’s usually one or two friendly faces to say hi to. Outside of the multitude of Donghyuck’s acquaintances, they also have a nice tight-knit group, a little family of friends who come together regularly. 

Jeno doesn’t really notice the extent of it—how large their tight-knit group of friends had grown—until he and Donghyuck walk in late to Taeyong’s Christmas dinner and see 16 pairs of eyes staring at him.

“Um,” Jeno says, stopping at the doorway. He’s sure he told Jaemin to let everyone know they were running late—they had to shoot a quick holidays lookbook for the vlog. Jeno glances at Donghyuck who looks as equally confused. “We’re sorry we’re late?”

Half of their dinner party are staring at them with mischievous smiles on their faces while the other half are looking at the two of them with something akin to pity. This does not bode well.

“Never mind that. We knew you were coming late,” says Renjun, who is on the half of the table who look like they have something terrible planned for the both of them. He grins, all teeth. This _definitely_ does not bode well. “But the two of you should look up.”

Jeno looks up slowly, his head suddenly feeling heavy, to where there’s a mistletoe hanging on the door frame. It dangles right above the space between Jeno and Donghyuck’s heads, mockingly. Jeno glances back at the group and realises that everyone who’s looking at Jeno with pity are people who are aware of Jeno’s _feelings_. Fuck. 

Doyoung meets Jeno’s eyes and there must be panic in them because Doyoung says, “Hey, don’t force them.” 

Yukhei starts chanting _kiss, kiss, kiss_ and it picks up a bit before Doyoung cuts them a harsh glare that shuts them up. Jeno promises to buy Doyoung a coffee for always having his back. Jeno’s most reliable hyung. He’s glad he made his way back into Doyoung’s good books after suffering from the aftermath of Donghyuck’s first prank on him. 

There’s a moment where Jeno wonders whether he should just turn back around and leave, when he feels lips on his cheek. Donghyuck pulls away, right as Jeno turns to him, surprised. 

“It’s not a big deal,” Donghyuck says, eyes downcast. He turns away from Jeno, walks to the end of the table, and takes a seat.

Jeno stands there longer than he should before he follows. There’s no space next to Donghyuck, so Jeno takes the seat in front of him, next to Jaemin who pats Jeno’s shoulder in solidarity. His heart feels nuclear in his chest and his cheek burns where Donghyuck’s lips touched him. 

The rest of the dinner goes by smoothly, or as smooth as it gets with 18 university aged boys in one room, and Jeno eats to his heart’s content. 

At one point, Johnny sidles in next to Donghyuck, puts an arm around him and says, “I heard you have something big planned for Christmas.”

It makes Jeno’s ears perk up because he hasn’t heard of anything. He glances at Donghyuck curiously, but Donghyuck just smiles at him and it makes his heart clench. In fear, of course. Nothing else. 

“It’s a surprise,” Donghyuck says, and Jeno is somehow dreading.

ミ☆

Jeno ends up going back to Donghyuck’s after the party, a little bit because Donghyuck’s roommate is out for the night and they have to wake up early to film, but mainly because Jaemin kicked Jeno out of the dorm after he invited someone over.

Jeno leans back on Donghyuck’s bed, closes his eyes and rubs his belly, completely satiated. Something gets dropped on him, and Jeno sits up with an _oomph_ , only to find a present, large and rectangular, in his lap.

“What’s this?” Jeno asks, turning the gift in his hands. It’s wrapped haphazardly, obviously Donghyuck’s work, and it feels heavy in his hands. “I thought we weren’t doing presents.”

Donghyuck shrugs, but he doesn’t look at Jeno, instead busying himself with tidying up his dorm room. “I was going to give it to you anyway,” Donghyuck says, putting a textbook that was on his desk back onto his shelf. “I just thought it looked better wrapped.”

There’s no card, no writing on it at all, so Jeno just peels the wrapping paper back. A small section of the gift peeks through, and Jeno’s breath catches. A sliver of gold. His heart beats loudly in his chest. He unwraps the rest of it and just stares. 

On the wall, where Donghyuck had hung it next to his silver YouTube award, the space is blank. Jeno looks up and wonders how he missed it. A Gold Creator Award for 1 million YouTube subscribers. Jeno remembers how elated Donghyuck looked when the award was sent to him. 1 million subscribers felt like a dream, but between the two of them, they made it. An impossible feat, but not for them.

“Donghyuck,” Jeno says, slowly, dumbstruck, “this is yours.”

Donghyuck smiles at him. “It’s as much yours as it is mine,” he says. “We’re co-owners, remember?” 

Something in Jeno’s throat feels tight. He swallows it back and gives Donghyuck a watery smile. Jeno wants to capture this moment and place it in a snow globe, shake it up when he feels down and feel the warmth of Donghyuck’s smile and remember the feeling of Jeno’s heart on his sleeve. 

Later, when they’re squished in Donghyuck’s bed, because there’s no judging the cleanliness of his roommate’s bed, Donghyuck says, “I was going to quit, you know.”

Jeno, who was on the edge of falling asleep, blinks awake. He stares at Donghyuck’s back. “What?” he whispers. This is news to him.

“It was hard,” Donghyuck says to the wall. “It was a lot of stress, and I wasn’t sure if I enjoyed it any more. But then I met you, and I remembered why I started it.”

Jeno always thought about how Donghyuck changed his life, made his university life as vibrant as it is, and this revelation surprises him into silence. Cautiously, Jeno leans in and closes the gap between them, puts an arm over Donghyuck’s waist, and presses his nose to the nape of Donghyuck’s neck. 

Donghyuck doesn’t move away but shuffles in a bit closer, and like that, pressed together, they fall asleep.

ミ☆

ミ☆

Three days before Christmas, it is freezing.

It’s also the day that Donghyuck tells Jeno he’s going to unleash his plan. Jeno lets himself be dragged along, which is how he ends up in the middle of the busiest part of university, behind the camera as Donghyuck films his introduction.

“I know I made my name as a prank YouTuber,” Donghyuck says into the viewfinder, “but we want to spice it up this Christmas, help share the love around and birth some new couples.”

Jeno makes a face, a bit surprised that _this_ was Donghyuck’s plan. Where’s the ordered chaos Jeno has learned to associate with Donghyuck that Jeno had been thinking about ever since their Christmas dinner? 

Donghyuck glares at him like he can read Jeno’s thoughts. “Jeno, I can see you. Stop it.” He turns his smile back on and continues, “Like I was saying, we’re going to help form some new couples, and ask strangers to call their crush and confess!”

There’s too much energy in Donghyuck, and it makes Jeno suspicious, but he just goes along with it. Helping people find love, even though the two of them are both unfortunately single… should be simple.

Thirty minutes later, it turns out it’s harder than expected. Jeno learns this through enough rejections that it actually starts to feel a bit personal. What happened to good old crushes these days? Half the people they ask either don’t have crushes or are in relationships and the other half don’t want to do it.

“But it’s a chance to be with them,” Jeno says, trying to convince a guy who actually has a crush. 

“Sorry,” the guy says, “I don’t want to risk it.”

What a mood, Jeno thinks. He wouldn’t do it either, but it’s very cold, he’s very tired, and he hopes there’s at least one person reckless enough out there who is willing to put their heart on the line despite the terrifying and very likely chance of getting rejected and ruining one of the best friendships of their life. Nope, nothing internalised there. 

Jeno looks across at Donghyuck, who gets rejected once again. He looks disappointed, his energy running low, so Jeno does seriously pray they get at least one success.

Apparently, Jeno was praying to the right gods, because moments later, while they don’t find success just yet, they do find a girl who looks intrigued.

“So you want me to call my crush and tell him I like him?” the girl asks. When they nod, she looks thoughtful, before saying, “How about you guys? I’ll do it if you do it.”

Jeno’s about to butt in and say that neither of them have a crush when Donghyuck speaks first. “Sure,” Donghyuck says, “I’ll do it.”

That’s a punch to the chest if anything. Jeno nearly reels back from its impact. He knows his crush is fruitless, that it’s never been an option, that Jeno’s never had a chance, but it’s different just thinking about it and knowing it for certain. Watching Donghyuck call up his crush seems pretty certain. Jeno didn’t even know he _had_ a crush. 

The girl eyes him. “Now?” 

Donghyuck laughs. “Not now, but I promise you there’ll be a video up on my channel where I call my crush.”

The girl still looks like she distrusts him. “That doesn’t seem fair…”

“I promise,” Donghyuck says, turning up his charm. He continues to convince the girl but Jeno doesn’t really hear much of it. He feels like he’s on autopilot, like the shock of it burned his brain cells.

No one’s able to resist Donghyuck’s charm, and the girl does call her crush on the promise that Donghyuck releases a video about calling his own later. It’s a success, and Jeno listens in as she secures a date over Christmas, trying to feel happy for her. 

It’s only uphill from there, and they find two more people willing to give it a go. One of them gets a sad rejection that Jeno feels for enough that he hugs the guy very tightly, and he may lament too hard because when they separate the guy asks if _Jeno_ is alright. The other ends up with a success as well, and it’s cold enough afterwards that most people are shuffling indoors, so they decide to follow suit and end the video on a good note.

They retreat to Donghyuck’s dorm, and before Donghyuck’s even taken off his winter coat, Jeno asks, “Are you really going to do it?” The entire time they were filming, the thought of Donghyuck’s crush sat there on the edge of Jeno’s mind.

Donghyuck stares at him, eyes wide. “Do what?”

“Call your crush.” Jeno walks further into the room, puts the camera down on Donghyuck’s desk and starts fiddling with it. 

“Well, yeah, I promised her,” Donghyuck says. “To be honest, that’s actually the surprise I didn’t tell anyone about. Even if she didn’t ask, I was going to do it.”

That makes it hurt a bit more. “You must like them a lot,” Jeno says, quietly.

“I do,” Donghyuck says, quieter now too. “I’m going to do it today before I lose the nerve. Can you help me?”

Jeno’s never said no to Donghyuck—well he has, numerous times and on a regular basis—but not for something Donghyuck has conviction for, so he unpacks the camera bags and starts to set it up, helping prepare for his own indirect rejection.

ミ☆

By the time, Donghyuck’s sitting in front of the camera, Jeno feels a bit sick to his stomach. He just wants to hide under his blankets and maybe wallow a bit, have a self-pity party, before Jaemin comes back. But when Jeno asks Donghyuck whether he should leave, Donghyuck looks at him, pulls him into the seat next to him, and says, “Can you stay? I want you here with me.”

Another stab to his chest. Jeno would think Donghyuck was cruel but Donghyuck doesn’t have a cruel bone in his body. “Sure,” Jeno says.

They run through the intro, and Jeno musters the best smile he can. He plays the supportive best friend role to near perfection, his acting skills pulling him through once again. 

When Donghyuck pulls out his phone, readying himself for the call, Jeno hides his face behind a pillow. He pretends to be scared for Donghyuck but really, he’s scared for himself. 

“I’m going to call now,” Donghyuck says, voice a bit shaky. 

“Do it,” Jeno says, eyes shut tight, the pillow pressed to his face. “Good luck.”

There are a few minutes of silence, the only sound in the room being the dial tone of Donghyuck’s phone, before Jeno’s own phone starts to ring.

“Oh shit,” Jeno says, throwing the pillow away and walking behind the camera to turn his phone on silent. He stuffs it into his pocket without looking at it and takes his place back next to Donghyuck. Donghyuck’s staring at him with a little bit of disbelief. “Sorry, I thought I put it on silent.”

“Did you check who it was from?” Donghyuck asks slowly. 

Jeno stares at him weirdly. “No,” he says, “we’re filming.”

“Check it,” Donghyuck says. 

“It’s fine. I’ll check it when we’re done.”

“No really,” Donghyuck pleads. “Just check it.”

Jeno’s confused, but he pulls out his phone anyway. On the screen, it says, _Missed Call, Donghyuck_. Jeno double takes at the name. He glances up at Donghyuck, confused. He tilts his head. “Why did you call me?”

Donghyuck stares at the camera that’s still filming with disbelief, before putting his head in his hands. “Oh my god, Jeno. How are you so dense? I called my crush.”

“But…” Jeno starts, still confused, “you called me.” Donghyuck sits back up and stares at Jeno and there’s that same expression on his face from months ago, anxious but confident, and it finally clicks. “Oh,” Jeno says, and then, _“oh.”_

“Yeah,” Donghyuck says. He puts his face in his hands and when Jeno looks over, the tips of Donghyuck’s ears are red. 

“Does this mean… that you like me?” It feels too good to be true. Jeno backtracks, actually, because it _might_ be too good to be true. “Is this a prank?” he asks, wary.

“No,” Donghyuck says, “oh my god. I’m confessing and you think it’s a prank. Why do I like you?”

“It was a prank last time,” Jeno reasons.

“Last time wasn’t supposed to be a prank,” Donghyuck moans into his hands. “But then you didn’t say anything, so I said it was.”

“You didn’t even let me say anything back then!” Jeno shouts. There’s a part of Jeno that’s worried that Donghyuck might be called up with a warning about noise, but the other part of him, the bigger part of him, is too confused by this situation. 

“You took too long!” Donghyuck says. “I thought I was going to get rejected.” And then mumbling, face even redder now, he says, “I was scared.”

It makes a lot of sense now. Jeno wondered at the time, what sparked the prank idea. It was one of the things the two of them never spoke about but never considered because it felt like people could get hurt. When the video dropped, there were hundreds of comments, some upvoted to the top, like _i’m guessing haechan likes jeno but he set it up as a prank in case he got rejected_ but Jeno ignored them. Guess they were true. 

Jeno’s face is turning red too. He pulls Donghyuck’s hands from his face and holds them into his own. Donghyuck looks up at him and Jeno wants to kiss him. “I didn’t say anything because I was scared too.”

“Why were you scared?” Donghyuck asks, quietly.

“I was scared because I liked you,” Jeno says, embarrassed. “I didn’t know what to say.”

“Liked?” Donghyuck grips Jeno’s hands back hard. “What about now? You haven’t answered me yet.”

“I like you now too,” Jeno says, and relishes in Donghyuck’s smile, right before Donghyuck throws himself into Jeno’s arms. 

Jeno holds him back tight, and it feels surreal. Just another impossible feat that came true because of Donghyuck. He kisses Donghyuck’s hair and presses in close.

ミ☆

ミ☆

Jeno doesn’t know how long they spend pressed against each other, but when Donghyuck moves away it feels too soon.

“One more thing,” Donghyuck says. He gets up from his seat and walks to the closet. Jeno watches with interest as Donghyuck rummages around and excitedly pulls something out. Which doesn’t make sense because what he pulls out is so absurd and random—it’s a fishing pole. But then Donghyuck takes the whole thing out and Jeno sees the mistletoe attached to the end of the line, and he bursts out laughing.

Donghyuck walks back, proud of himself, and joins in with Jeno’s laughter.

“Is this what you bought that time when we went shopping and you kicked me out?” Jeno asks.

“Yep,” Donghyuck says. “It’s for the mistletoe prank, but I wanted to test it on you first.”

Donghyuck moves it so the mistletoe is lined up right above their heads. He smiles at Jeno and the warmth in Donghyuck’s eyes is new. This is an expression Jeno wants to keep. 

Jeno leans in and kisses Donghyuck’s forehead, the lids of his eyes, the tip of his nose, and then he kisses Donghyuck’s smile.

ミ☆

**Author's Note:**

> \- the youtube pranks/vlogs were mostly just inspired by general youtube trends but the nohyuck meeting was directly inspired by [this prank](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJgF2OoN2yw)  
> \- please hand wave the changing hair colours, the lq pics + any other details of the edits that don’t match the text… i tried to find better pics but nohyuck really need to take more photos together TT  
> \- thank you for reading! i hope you liked it! comments and kudos are love ♡  
> \- [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/thursday) / [twitter](https://twitter.com/falserecall)


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